Barge structure



Sept. 15, 1936.v A. J. DAWSON BARGE STRUCTURE Filed DeC. l0, 1955 INVENTOR may? 2mm BY y "man va/1131 -ia TTORNEYS Patented Sept. 15, 1936 I. i

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE Albert J. Dawson, Sewickley, Pa., assignor to The j Dravo Contracting Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 10, 1935, Serial No. 53,777

2 Claims. (Cl. 114-79) This invention relates to the forming of barges the vertical side wall, the vertical end wall, and and such like structures out of sheet steel, and the obliquely rising bottom wall) is a three-diconsists specically of acorner structure that may mensional angle, a tetrahedral angle. Not only be eiected in simple manner and cheaply, and the two quadrants of cylindrical shells, but the 5 that is at the same time strengthened to endure third rounded edge (in which the end wall and 6 the shocks and impacts of service. the bottom wall meet, here come together. The

In the accompanying drawing Fig. I is a fragrounding of the obtuse angle (the angles previmentary View, showing in plan the corner of a ously considered are right angles) of meeting of barge in the structure of which the invention is the vertical end wall and the rising bottom Wall embodied; Fig. II is a view of the same portion is continued; the sharp edge in which the two l0 of the same barge in side elevation; and Fig. III cylindrical quadrants theoretically meet is cut is a View in front elevation. Fig. IV is a View away; but the cut is of diminishing depth throughin section, on the broken plane of section indiout the extent of the elliptical quadrant, until cated at IV--IV, Fig. II; Fig. V is a view in plan the cut merges in and is lost at the surface of of a certain re-enforcing member detached. the vertical side wall of the barge, at the point 15 'Ihe drawing shows, fragmentarily, a barge, 3, m, Fig. II. This truncating of the edge of union built of plates of steel; such a barge as is comof the two cylindrical quadrants leaves a gaping monly used on inland water-ways for the transspace to be filled, of maximum width, n-o, at portion in bulk of such material as coal. The one end of the elliptical line, and of a width dibarge is shown with suillcient fullness to indicate minishing to zero at the other end. This gaping 20 that it is substantially rectangular in plan, and space is with difficulty bridged by a welded-in substantially rectangular in cross-section; that deposit of fused metal. throughout the greater portion of its length it is The invention consists in cutting away the iiat bottomed; and that the bow and stern are of cylindrical shells to form a slot of uniform width,

truncated wedge shape. The gunwale and the and ofawidth approximating the maximum width 25 decked-over ends extend substantially in a plane of the gaping space described, and extending in u b; the bottom rises at the bow and stern in a plane coincident with the line of meeting of oblique planes, c-d; the sides extend throughout the end and bottom walls and extending from in the vertical planes e-f; while at bow and stern such line obliquely upward and in coincidence the body of the barge terminates in vertical planes with the elliptical line of meeting described; in- 30 of truncation, g-h. The three planes last deserting in such slot a plate I of steel; and welding iined meet in a tetrahedral angle. the plate in place, as is indicated at 2. The plane It is undesirable in such a structure that the of the slot coincides with one edge of the tetracorners be sharp. Accordingly, the vertical side hedral angle and intersects the plane of the opwall e-f and the vertical end wall a-h merge in posite face. 35 the quadrant of a cylindrical shell, as shown in Practically, the radii of curvature of the two plan in Fig. I and in elevation in Figs. II and III. cylindrical quadrants are equal, and their value, Similarly the vertical side wall e-f and the typically, is one foot; the angle that the rising obliquely rising bottom wall c-d merge in the bottom wall forms with the horizontal is approx- 4o quadrant of a cylindrical shell that is shown in imately 30; and the radius of curvature of the 4,0 side elevation in Fig. II and in front elevation in rounded edge of meeting of end wall and bottom Figs. III and IV. The vertical end wall g-h wall is approximately four inches. Given such and the obliquely rising bottom wall c--d merge dimensions, it suiiices that the slot be of sufin an arc of a cylindrical shell (of smaller radius cient width snugly to receive a plate cut from a and of less than quadrant extent), as is suftwo-and-one-quarter-inch steel slab. 45 ciently indicated in Fig. II. Y A weld union is readily effected between the Considering, rst, the two cylindrical shells walls of the barge and the inserted plate, throughthat form the vertically extending and the 011i? all the extent 0f the 011tobliquely rising corners, it is manifest that they It will be perceived that, not only is building would intersect one another in an edge that in simplified, in that the spaces to be filled by metal 50 its outline would be a quadrant of an ellipse, lying fused and welded in situ are diminished in Width; in an obliquely disposed plane. Such a sharp but the finished structure is reenforced and edge, however, could not be tolerated, and must strengthened at the very point where in service be rounded away. it is exposed to the impact of collision.

The angle of meeting of the three planes (of Manifestly the invention is applicable where 55 plates to be united meet in a tetrahedral angle, and is not limited to a structure in which one of the component plates extends in vertical plane, or meets another at a. right angle.

I claim as my invention: Y

1. A barge Vor like structure formed of metal plates and having an end portion of truncated K wedge shape, includingside and end walls and an obliquelyV rising bottom wall, the corners of meeting between end and bottom wal1s,`between sid'e and bottom walls, and between end and side walls, being rounded, and a reenforcing plate, ex

tending in an oblique plane coincident with theV line of meeting of the `curved surfaces toI which reinforcing plate being united with the wallforming plates of thestructure.

2. A barge or like structure formed of metal plates and having an end portion of truncated Wedge shape, including side and end walls and an obliquely rising bottom wall, the constituent plates being slotted at the angle of meeting of the Ythree said walls, the slot extending in a. plane coincident with'the line of meeting of end and bottom walls and' thence obliquely upward, theY said slot extending through the side wall of the barge, and a plate introduced into and filling such slot andunited to the wall-forming plates throughout all the extent of such slot.

ALBERT J. DAWSON. 

